Two Alachua County educators were among eight educators recognized recently by Governor Rick Scott with the Governor’s Shine Award, presented to teachers and administrators in Florida who make significant contributions to the field of education. And, in recognition of Blindness Awareness Month, five of the educators honored teach visually impaired students.

Scott said via a press release, “I am proud to present these eight educators with the Governor’s Shine Award today and recognize their incredible work. These great educators represent the many dedicated teachers throughout the state working to ensure every Florida student can reach their full potential has a strong foundation for future success.”

The Alachua County honorees are:

Renee Andrews, who teaches 11th and 12th grade Advanced Placement Environmental and Marine Sciences at P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School, is also the recipient of the Shell/National Science Teachers Association Science Teaching Award, and the 2017 P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School District Teacher of the Year. Andrews has taught in Florida public schools for more than 25 years.

Esther Lynn Mauffra, who is an itinerant vision teacher for Alachua County Schools, teaches low vision, Braille, and orientation and mobility to visually impaired students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in many schools in the school district. She has served the school district for more than 38 years.

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A key supporter of research education, George Wedgworth was posthumously recognized as a UF/IFAS Champion for his life-long support to further science and education during a UF/IFAS Dinner of Distinction, attended by members of the Wedgworth family.

Referring to a black and white photo of his father the late George Wedgworth, then a 4-years old kid, sprawled on the lawn in Belle Glade, Florida during a presentation by his father UF scientist Herman Wedgworth, Dennis Wedgworth, president of Wedgworth Farms, said: “That photo says a lot about the legacy of the Wedgworth family in Florida agriculture and its longstanding partnership with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.”

“My dad had always been highly supportive of UF/IFAS, and I think that goes back to living on the research center campus when he was a kid,” said Dennis Wedgworth via a release from UF/IFAS. “Having grown up in a community of scientists and researchers, he understood the importance of getting the facts correct. To do that, you have to have a strong partnership with the research and science community, and that was UF/IFAS.”

During his career, the late George Wedgworth made a lasting impact on UF/IFAS through endowments to the UF/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center, or EREC in Belle Glade, and the UF/IFAS Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“When Wedgworth Farms decided to make a major gift to the Everglades center, most of that support went to fund graduate student assistantships, visiting scientists and new equipment needed to keep the facility current,” said Van Waddill, former director of EREC, and professor emeritus of entomology and nematology. “The gift will help solve problems for the community in perpetuity, and to me that is the real legacy of the gift.”

The goal of the UF/IFAS Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources is to produce future leaders in agriculture and natural resources, said Hannah Carter, director of the institute and associate professor of agricultural education and communication at UF.

“Back when Mr. Wedgworth endowed the institute, in the agriculture industry, it was unheard of to invest in people. Mr. Wedgworth was one of the first adopters of this idea,” Carter said, via a press release. “Mr. Wedgworth’s word carried a lot of weight around the state and in the industry, and I think many others have followed his lead.”

Dennis Wedgworth said their family is honored to have the institute named after them. “I think we’ve been successful over the years because we’ve had strong leaders like my father, and I think that he epitomizes leadership in agriculture. He was a leader’s leader, and he touched every part of agriculture in Florida over his 50-year career.”

Members of the Wedgworth family attended a Sept. 29 Dinner of Distinction to honor the late George Wedgworth, a key supporter of research and education, who was posthumously recognized as a UF/IFAS Champion.

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The Public Relations Society of America Educators Academy has honored Dr. Tina McCorkindale, president and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations in the UF College of Journalism and Communications, with the 2017 David Ferguson Award Academy for outstanding contributions to the advancement of public relations education on the part of public relations professionals. The award honors the late David Ferguson, APR, Fellow PRSA or, Public Relations Society of America, in recognition of his outstanding support to public relations education as PRSA president in 1985 and later as co-chair of the PRSA Educational Affairs Committee.

McCorkindale’s accomplishments are vast, and include but are not limited to, serving on the Universal Accreditation Board, co-chairing the Certificate in principles of Public Relations Committee for two years. She serves on multiple research journal editorial boards, including the UF School of Journalism and Communication Public Relations Advisory Board, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication Academic Advisory Board, and is a Board member of the Global Alliance, serving as a representative of academic and research organizations.

McCorkindale frequently speaks to university classes around the world, and she is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, a professional association for senior public relations executives. “Giving back to the profession by supporting the next generation of leaders and their professors is critically important to me,” said McCorkindale via a release. “I am honored to join such past recipients who I have long admired.”